Cult film by David Lynch, “Mulholland Drive” has left spectators with many questions since its release in 2001. Attempt at explanations.
David Lynch died on January 16, 2025 and leaves behind a unique filmography, abundant, rich but sometimes nebulous. His style is unique and results in surreal, sensory, dreamlike cinema in mundane or mundane environments. His works may have frustrated some viewers, leaving them with more questions than answers. this is the case of Mulholland Drivea mystery film which received the directing prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2001, but which also left many spectators wondering about the interpretations to offer this feature film. David Lynch, for his part, has always refused to provide explanations for his films.
By diving into Hollywood, its glitter but also its excesses, Mulholland Drive follows a woman who is involved in a car accident and becomes amnesiac. An apprentice actress will help her regain her memory and her identity. But quickly, the border between dream and reality is blurred, leaving the viewer to explore the twists and turns of the unconscious of the two women. Many spectators wondered about the second part of the film. And since its release, everyone has had their own interpretation.
The most common explanation of Mulholland Drive
The most widespread theory among spectators remains a division into two sequences: dream and reality. The first part of the film would be the dream of Betty, a character played by Naomi Watts, who imagines an idealized version of her life. The scene in which we see the advance of the pillows and sheets supports this theory. In this sequence, everything plays out at the level of the unconscious and the subconscious and announces the plot that we will understand towards the end of the film. His dream would then take place between the two sequences where Rita, the woman played by Laura Harring, opens the blue box.
From there, the second part of Mulholland Drive could suggest that we dive back into reality and discover what really happened between the two women. In what seems to be real life, their romance is not so ideal, their breakup is painful and Betty/Diane sinks into a depression which leads to the inevitable drama… This second part would solve all the mysteries and give the keys to the Betty’s dream that we discovered. Consumed by guilt, she falls into a deep sleep and dreams of an idyllic romance. But when she realizes what she has done, she plunges into a state of delirium which pushes her to end her life.
No official explanation for Mulholland Drive
But this explanation of Mulholland Drive is only an interpretation and each viewer can develop their own theories, especially since the feature film is full of symbols that we can have fun dissecting. Knowing David Lynch, this first theory seems almost too simple to unlock all the keys to his film. The filmmaker had simply described Mulholland Drive as “a love story in the city of dreams”.
According to actor Justin Theroux, who plays the director, David Lynch “is sincerely happy that a film can mean what we want. He appreciates when people find interpretations that are frankly bizarre.” And the director has always been careful not to give any hints of explanation, because explaining a film misses the whole sensory, dreamlike and strange experience of this enigma. As Lynch himself said: “I don’t know why we expect art to make sense. Yet we accept that life has no meaning.”
Synopsis – Rita (Laura Harring) loses her memory after a car accident, and disoriented, she enters the first house that comes her way. There she meets Betty (Naomi Watts), a young actress freshly arrived in Hollywood. The two young women will form a passionate relationship, and their investigation to discover Rita’s true identity will blur the boundaries between dream and reality. The film, designed as a sort of Moebius ribbon, will present us with characters with ambiguous identities and roles: director Adam Kesher (Justin Theroux), the mysterious “Cowboy”, or even actress Camilla Rhode. Between mise en abyme and dreamlike symbolism, Rita and Betty will have to delve into their own unconscious.